


Survivors

by FestusFlare



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Survivors, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Gen, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-28 06:10:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7628086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FestusFlare/pseuds/FestusFlare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They managed to survive the New World Program. Now, they're left to their own thoughts, reminiscing about the events they had to go through and how they have changed because of it.</p><p>AU with different survivors</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pekoyama Peko

### Pekoyama Peko

I shouldn't be alive...

Honestly, how did I even make it through that whole death game? I was supposed to be a tool. But looking at the results… Some tool I turned out to be. I couldn't even protect my young master. That was what I was raised to do, and I failed it. And now he's in a coma, sleeping like a corpse inside the pod.

The young master had died in the New World Program. Murdered by Hiyoko Saionji, who wanted to take revenge for what he did to Mahiru's friend Satou. I could still remember his corpse, strangled to death by Hiyoko's own hands. Everything after that, though… was a haze… I remember not saying much during the Class Trial, Hiyoko having to dance on a stage filled with spikes, locking myself in my cottage for two whole days… stabbing my stomach with a kitchen knife…

If it hadn't been for Ibuki constantly trying to break into my room, I would be dead right now.

I couldn't even die right. What a useless tool I was.

"No, you're not just a tool!"

Hajime's words suddenly struck me, and I clutched my chest tightly. He had shouted that to me in the hospital, all the while Mikan kept trying to tell him that he should be quiet in a hospital. I could remember the hurt in his eyes as he told me just how much he cherished me as a friend, and how he could never forgive himself if I ever committed suicide. They were the same words that the young master... Fuyuhiko... had kept telling me over and over again even before the Field Trip of Mutual Killing began. However, I did not listen to him back then. After all, if I'm not a tool for Fuyuhiko, then what am I?

"You're a person, Peko. And you're my friend... Nobody's going to say otherwise, okay?"

Hajime's words again. And once again, they were similar to the ones Fuyuhiko kept telling me. He had told me that at the beach during sunset the day before we were trapped in that Funhouse, and a part of me even wondered if he was actually trying to confess to me back then. Not that I knew how to respond to him if he did. We still came out of it as good friends, though.

Hajime and Fuyuhiko… Even though I kept insisting that I didn't deserve to even be called human, they still wanted to befriend me. They didn't let me degrade myself as nothing but a tool. They asked me to stand by their side, not beneath them.

But what about the others? Did they...?

Who am I kidding? They have always treated me as a friend, and it took me so long before I even realised it. From the way Sonia had invited me to join her beach party, to how much Mikan tried to nurse me back to health me after I had tried to commit suicide. Nekomaru and Akane tried to cheer me up by inviting me to a sparring lesson, too. They let me go all out with my swordsmanship, allowing me to release all the pent up stress and anger inside me. There was Mahiru's constant apologies for Fuyuhiko's death, too. She probably cried the most after me, mostly blaming herself for Hiyoko's actions.

Even Kazuichi, the one-track minded idiot who had done nothing but mope around for days on end after the third trial, was kind enough to share a bottle of water with me when we were all starving to death.

Did I... deserve their friendship?

I glanced at Fuyuhiko's comatose body once more, as if waiting for him to answer my question. But he wouldn't answer me. At least, not for a long while. But maybe... his silence was the answer I needed from him. Fuyuhiko isn't the one who should be dictating how I thought. I am.

And suddenly, the last words I spoke inside the New World Program came back to me. The very ones I wholeheartedly shouted out as I cried tears of joy while the world was slowly disappearing around us. We didn't know what the future had in store for us, or if we would even remember what happened during our time on the island. But it felt… peaceful. We were all ready to face what was going to come, and have grown so much… I remember what I thought was going to be my final words.

"I don't know if we're going to remember any of this... But if we won't, I do not want to go as a tool or a weapon. Remember me as a human being. Remember me as a friend. Remember me as Pekoyama Peko!"

I lay my hand on Fuyuhiko's pod. I wish I could hold him, hug him, tell him that I finally understand what he's been trying to tell me all this while. But he probably can't hear me. Still, it shouldn't stop me from trying. Makoto had told us that we should try to speak to our comatose friends whenever we can. It might help their recovery, after all.

"I'll wait for you, Fuyuhiko," I whisper quietly to his pod "One day, I'll show you just how much I've changed..."

"Hmm? Are you in here, Peko?" Hajime's voice calls out from the entrance

I turn to him, a calm expression on my face. He doesn't pry into what I've been doing. He could probably guess, anyways. There's no hiding anything from him, after all.

"Do you still need some-"

"No," I cut him off and walk past him, picking up the kendo shinai that I had placed next to the door "Does Makoto need me?"

"Not really. I was wondering where everybody else was, and I guessed you would be here. So I… just wanted to see how you were doing."

Hajime scratched the back of his head, and I swear I see a slight blush on his cheeks. Giving him the faintest of smiles, we both head out back to where the Future Foundation members were stationed.

I used to be a tool. I'm not one anymore. I'm a person, and I was lucky that I was able to live long enough to realise that. One day, when Fuyuhiko finally wakes up, I'll be there waiting beside him. Even if he doesn't remember anything about the island, even if he wakes up as a member of Ultimate Despair, I'll still be there for him. Not as a tool, but as a friend.


	2. Tsumiki Mikan

### Tsumiki Mikan

I'm a monster...

I'm a monster that doesn't deserve to survive all the way through. All those things I've done, all those people I've hurt, all those families I've destroyed... I'm a failure of a nurse!

I guess that's exactly the reason why I'm now sitting alone in a dark corner of the Funhouse, far away from everyone else...

Everyone said it was the Despair Disease's fault. That I'm not really like that. That I would never do those things. But they're wrong... After all, the disease I had was the Remembering Disease, not the Psychotic Murderer Disease.

All I could think of was despair, despair, despair, kill, love, murder, despair. Just to see make that person I called my beloved happy, I was willing to plan out Ibuki's murder. She was the weakest at the time. She might even kill herself if I so much as asked her.

At least, that was the plan. And for that, I should thank Togami for figuring it out... Or at least, the Imposter acting as Togami.

He saw right through my acting not even five minutes after I crossed his path. Fitting for the man who spent his whole life disguising himself as other people. He... He had Hajime and Kazuichi capture and restrain me. For days and days, I was locked up in the abandoned building beside the hotel for days, rambling on and on about despair and... my beloved... The glares everyone gave me were sickening, but I reveled in it. I loved every second that they hated me, were disgusted by me.

Togami was the reason I'm still here... I wish I could have had the chance to thank him...

Even after Monokuma lifted the Despair Disease and reverted my personality, I still had those memories. The murders I committed, the despair I brought, even the fact that I took... that person's...

"HURK-BLEEUGH!"

... I puked out my lunch...

I'm disgusting..

.

"Mikan? Are you in here?"

That voice... Hajime?! No, he can't see me. Not like this. Not ever! He was the last person I wanted finding me like this!

"Mikan...? I know you're in here, so please...?"

I had to fight back the tears that were starting to streak down my cheeks. I looked horrid. My clothes were covered in puke, my eyes were bloodshot from crying, my hair was better described as a pig sty. And... Ever since we escaped the program... I've been avoiding him most of all...

"Mikan...?"

Hajime was already in my line of sight, so I tried to huddle myself into a ball. Maybe he would ignore me if—

"That's where you were?!"

He sounded relieved. So happy to see me. No, why do you feel that way? You should be angry that I planned out a murder, furious at my true self, disgusted at at my current appearance. Stop coming closer! Stop being so nice! Stop looking at me with those kind eyes! Stop worrying about me!

Please... Stop making me love you all over again...!

"S-St-Stay away!" I manage to stutter out.

If Hajime heard me, he isn't listening. His footsteps were getting louder and louder. A few more feet and he'll be right in front of me...

"Mikan," his face was right in front of me, but I didn't dare look him straight in the eyes "Look at me, Mikan"

"... N-No..." I wanted to see him so bad "I..."

"Look at me, Mikan" Hajime said once more, his voice laced with his trademark worry and kindness "Tell me what's bothering you... please..."

Despite my better judgement, I finally dared to look him in the eyes. In an instant, I was captured by those hazel eyes. My breathing felt ragged. My heart was aching. I... I can't do this anymore...

"I-I... I'm a monster..." I whispered out, letting my tears wash my cheeks

"You still look like Mikan to me," Hajime replied with a soft smile

"I k-k-killed so... so many people..."

"It's never too late to make up for your mistakes."

"I-I'm just a whore... All th-that I'm good for is my b-b-body…"

"I'll fight anyone who calls you that."

"N-No one... will miss me if I... if I died..."

"I'll stay by your grave every day if that ever happens"

"I should have died... S-Someone else should have... should have lived instead..."

"Mikan,"

Hajime wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his chest. I could feel his heartbeat thumping in his chest. The rhythmic beat calming down my nerves.

No... Please, I don't deserve this...

"Do you remember what I told you back in the Funhouse?"

Remember? Of course I did. I could never forget that moment. With a gun in my hands cocked right in between my eyes, I was ready to shoot my own head off. I was just a waste of space. Everybody needed to survive. We were trapped. Monokuma said we couldn't eat until somebody dies. I needed to sacrifice myself. It's the only way I could ever redeem myself. I'm a waste of space. A burden. Weak. Useless.

"Mikan!" Hajime was standing in place, his feet shaking. A single step might make me pull the trigger "If you shoot yourself now, think about what everyone else will feel!"

I didn't care. I was a monster that caused so much despair. Nobody else could remember what they did. I don't want them to ever remember. If I died here, nobody would care. It's just one less potential murderer clogging up space. They could use my corpse. Eat it. Satisfy their sexual urges with it. Release their stress on it.

After all, I'm nothing more than a monster that thrived on despair... I don't deserve to be called a nurse anymore...

"If you pull that trigger, then who's going to treat Peko's stomach wound? Who's going to take care of Hanamura the next time Peko hits him? Who's going to tend to Kazuichi's wounds when he tries to be a hero? You're the one person we need the most on this island, Mikan. We all need you… I need you…!"

What happened after that was a blur. Lots of crying, begging, and even a stray gunshot. The next thing I knew, Hajime was sleeping beside me, sleep talking about making sure that everyone makes it out alive.

I had started crying harder than ever, hugging Hajime back as he started patting my back. We stayed like that for… quite a while. He didn't rush me. He knew that I still needed time before I could readjust myself to society. If it's Hajime… I know he'll always be there, supporting us so we could smile another day.

"We'll take it one step at a time, okay?" Hajime smiled. That warm smile that melts my heart every time I see it

"Y-Yes…"

As he lets go of me and stood up, Hajime extended a hand out for me to take. I accept the offer, slowly getting on my feet as well. My face was burning red from embarrassment, but Hajime didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he did. Thinking like that only made my face even redder.

"S-Sorry for making you worry..."

"It's not a problem at all!"

Slowly making our way out of the Funhouse, I remembered the final words I said as the program ended. A calm smile decorated my face, like someone who has accepted their death. But for me, it was the smile of someone who was ready to start over. To start their life anew after facing so much hardship.

"I… I d-don't want to be a burden… I want… I want to help everyone else… I-I want to fix the problems I caused from the time I was an Ultimate Despair…! I hope… I hope you all will help me when that time comes!"

\------------------------

**OMAKE:**

Peko waits patiently at the corner of the Funhouse near the entrance, her arms crossed and her face completely flushed. With that amount of sexual tension, she expected them to kiss at the end or something. Seriously, you two. Get a room.

"Please stop making this any more awkward than it already is..." Peko sighed, wondering how much longer she would have to watch this go on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter got... romance heavy. Sorry, it's just a personal ship that I really like. I tried to make it as canon as possible with Mikan having a stalker-like crush if Hajime continues to take her FTEs, though I left Hajime's actual feelings for Mikan vague so you can take it both ways. Though for now, you'd probably be able to guess what my stance on this romance is.
> 
> If you don't like it, I'll remove the romance parts in upcoming chapters. Tell me your thoughts in the reviews.


	3. Souda Kazuichi

Life sucks.

One day, you're just learning your ABCs and the next thing you know, you're trapped in some kind of death game with a weird teddy bear thing. Then you find out that you were a mass murdering psychopath that pretty much started the apocalypse.

Is this karma? Did I kick a puppy in my past life or something?!

At times like these, I wish I was in Hajime's shoes. I mean, sure, he went through that whole Kamakura Izuru project, lost his own sense of identity, and was so hopelessly average he's pretty much a background character in his own life. But that's beside the point!

Let's look at the facts, shall we?

Out of the 16 of us; his crush (Yeah, _sure_ you were just looking at the beach. Peko just _happened_ to be sunbathing there), his stalker that might as well be his girlfriend at this point (how do you wake up in bed with Mikan four times in a row and _still_ say it's an accident?!), and his best friend (you two were going to do _WHAT_ with those potatoes?!) all managed to survive. And what do I get? A fat load of nothing.

All I wanted was for Miss Sonia to notice me and marry into royalty so I can spend all day living in luxury and order my own personal battle maid army to take care of me! Is that too much to ask for?

Well, at least I'm still Hajime's second best friend... right? At least, I think I am.

I should ask him next time.

"The sun is so bright~ But my future is so dark~"

Singing a dumb little tune, I continue to work on the pod that housed Nekomaru. Although, I do have to admit that they look like coffins sometimes...

No, bad Kazuichi! Don't think like that! You want your friends to come back to life, dammit!

"Umm, excuse me?"

"Wha-AHH!"

... Nobody else heard that scream, right?

"Ah, sorry for surprising you!" the newcomer apologised, bowing respectfully

"Seriously, you almost gave me a heart attack..." I grumbled at him... her... that... it? "Hmm... What was your name again?"

"Fujisaki Chihiro...?"

"Oh yeah, Chihiro! Right."

When I told Makoto I wanted to tinker with the other pods to see if I could wake the others up, he had asked Chihiro to watch me in case I screw something up. It makes sense, all things considered. Mikan and Peko sometimes relapse into their Despair personas. If that happens to me while I'm playing around with the pods...

Serious talk, though? Chihiro looks like a girl. If he wasn't wearing pants and telling people that he is in fact a dude, then I would have totally believed that he was a girl.

"So, did you get anywhere?" Chihiro asked me, crouching to look at the panel I was working on

"Not really. The instructions you gave were real good. And by that, I meant you made me realise that these things are dangerous as hell. If I so much as touch these 13 wires, then I could possibly kill them without even meaning to. This knob will fill up their pods with water and potentially drown them. These levers will electrocute them... Are you sure you didn't pick these up at a Monokuma junk pile?"

"I see..."

Yeah, sure. Ignore the question, why don't you? It's not like it's important or anything.

He continues to watch me work, fiddling with some knobs and glancing at the screen that showed Nekomaru's current condition. While I'm doing that, though, I have the sudden urge to ask a few questions.

"If... If Nekomaru and Gundam wake up, will they still have the Scientist and Pretty Fairy Princess disease?"

"You just want to laugh at Gundam for acting like a pretty fairy princess, don't you?"

"N-No!"

Okay, yeah. Dude's got a point. I mean, our resident "Dark Overlord" acting like a freakin' fairy princess?! Tell me I'm not the only one that sees the irony in that, right? Right? Man, it'll work as some great blackmail material! Even Monomi was embarrassed when Gundam started acting like that! And she was a magical girl!

"You know..." Chihiro takes over as he starts tapping on a few buttons on the keyboard "I fully expected you to work on Sonia's pod, to be honest..."

Well, can't say I didn't see that coming.

I glanced at Miss Sonia's pod just a few spots over. And no surprises there, but Gundam's pod is right next to hers. Did those Future Foundation guys do this just to spite me? What did I do to them, kick their puppies, too?!

"Well, you're not wrong..." I muttered, turning away from the pod and back to Nekomaru's "I... I did want to try and fix Miss Sonia's pod first, but... well, when someone kills two people because of the Genocider Syo Disease, then you sort of hesitate to bring them back, you know?"

"So that's why you-"

"Don't think about it too much!" I laugh, trying to change the topic "I mean, I'm friends with everyone here! So why not start with the dude that's got your back no matter what?"

But I'm not Ibuki, and my thoughts easily wander back to Sonia. Would she still act like a lovestruck serial killer when she wakes up? And for that matter, would she try and kill Gundam again? Or maybe she'd wake up with her Ultimate Despair memories. Then what happens? The Future Foundation takes her out? Wipes her memories again? Kill her? There are so many confusing variables that I don't have the guts to actually test any of them out.

"...The Despair Disease was bullshit."

"Hmm?" Chihiro cocks his head, confused

Seriously, screw the Despair Disease

Everyone's symptoms were just so crazy. Hajime being a compulsive liar? Peko hitting on every guy she sees? Mahiru acting like a damsel in distress?! Hanamura with the Caveman Disease?! It's like Monokuma just flipped through a dictionary and picked out a random word just for the heck of it!

And with our resident nurse rambling like a psychopath about her beloved something or other, Togami and I were the only ones that were still fine. Hajime managed to survive long enough to be one of the last three healthy people, but I guess continuously going to check on Mikan made him catch it in the end. The two of us were probably going to die from exhaustion just trying to keep everyone from accidentally killing anyone else...

Not like we were any good at that in the end. Just look at where we are now...

"... It's not your fault, Kazuichi" Chihiro muttered, though he was still focusing on the pod

"Oh crap, you can read minds?!" my jaw dropped when I realised this "Quick, tell me what I'm thinking right now!"

Heh, he'll never guess that I'm thinking about-

"Uhmm... Sonia?"

"How'd you knoooooow?!"

Shit shit shit, if he can read minds, then he must know what I'm thinking right now! Does he know about the hidden camera I used to take pictures of-

"You don't really hide your emotions all that well," Chihiro says apologetically, finally looking away from the monitor and smiling awkwardly at me "You and the Imposter... Togami... tried your best..."

Well, guess my best wasn't good enough then. Not like it ever was, anyway. If it's not a machine, I don't really know how to handle it. My human social skills are crap after all.

If only I was the one who got the Remembering Disease. Mikan would have made sure nobody died. It's her job, after all. And she was good at it!

"...You were arguing with Monokuma when Sonia killed Gundam and Nekomaru, right?" Chihiro asked quietly "Monokuma... he just killed Akane for attacking him... And Togami was holding you back so you didn't get killed either. You couldn't have possibly known that Sonia was going to attack Gundam at the time, right?"

"He even gave us an hour long lecture, that dumb bear..." I clicked my tongue, feeling my rage for the stupid monochrome bear boil "You ever think he did that just so he could buy Sonia some time? Because I swear, he was stalling us...! He knew Sonia was going to kill Gundam, and he didn't want us to stop her..."

"Who knows? Monokuma always said that he didn't want to interfere with the murders. Maybe he honestly didn't know it was going on?"

"I dunno…"

With a shrug of my shoulders, I close the lid to the console I was working on and stretch my body. It's gonna be lunch time soon, and there's no way I could work with an empty stomach. Maybe I can find a breakthrough after lunch. Either way, I'm not gonna stop any time soon. I promised everyone that after the New World Program was ending.

"Hehee…! There's no way this is the end, right guys? We're all gonna get out of here as best friends. We're going to wake up and laugh about all of these crazy adventures, and help fix the world! All sixteen of us! And I'll make sure we do or my name isn't Souda Kazuichi!"

Giving Chihiro a thumbs up, the two of us walk back towards the hotel with renewed conviction. Oh hey, there's Hajime! And… What's he doing with both Mikan and Peko? Damn, that guy… I swear, I'll be just as popular as him one day! And is that music I hear? And… shouting? Weird.

Ah well. I'll think about that later.

\------------------------

**OMAKE:**

"Oh, sorry, can I…? Ah! Found it!"

Chihiro laughs awkwardly as he pats down Kazuichi's body and finds a hidden camera in one of his baggy pants' pockets. Obviously, Kazuichi is trying (and failing horribly) to pretend that it wasn't his. Opening the recorded media, Chihiro could only sigh as he watches what stupid things Kazuichi had managed to record.

"I guess Hajime's tip was right… You would do something as stupid as this."

"HAJIMEEEEEEEEE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, comes what may as well be my most divisive chapter considering Kazuichi's popularity within the fandom. But hey, all things considered, I do find him to be one of my favourite characters to write, so I thought "Why not here?". And what's this? Chihiro's alive?! Yeah, DR1's cast has an alternate survivor list, too. Let's see who else survived, shall we?


	4. Mioda Ibuki

Woohoo! It's finally Ibuki's time to shine!

Sitting on a pile of luggage bags with a used ukelele in my hands and the smell of fresh ocean air in my nose, it's amazing! It's so amazing! So much better than the air in the New World Program! It feels like Ibuki could explode into a huge firework made of confetti and strawberry custard! In fact, I think the bag I'm sitting on has strawberry custard in it! I don't wanna eat it, though. It's probably been in there for weeks or months or years, and it would proooooobably give me a stomach ache. Or a heart attack. A stomach attack? Maybe Hanamura would know how to make old strawberry custard taste good.

It's a miracle those Future Foundation people just piled up these old luggage bags on the beach. Seriously, what were they thinking? That the owners would notice them and pick them back up? Well, I doubt that's ever gonna happen any time soon!

The owners are probably... yeah... Oh, wow, I did not think that through.

"No, no, no. Now's not the time to think that!" I shake my head and give my face a loud smack!

Think of the ocean, the waves, and this amazing view! You can't get it anywhere else, especially from the Amazing Wonder Chair! I should invite Hajime here during tomorrow's sunset! And maybe invite Mikan, Peko, and Kazuichi, too! I'm sure they'd love it!

"Ah, if only everyone else was here, too..." a wave of nostalgia washes over me, and I grin toothily "I wonder if we did this back when we were in school..."

More sad emotions. I know I can't be sad, though. I'm Mioda Ibuki! The Ultimate Musician! It's my job to help cheer everyone up! If I can't cheer everyone up, then nobody could!

But thinking about how everyone started killing and doubting everyone else, despite all of Hajime and Togami and Monomi's efforts...

It hurts...

Straightening my back and holding up the ukelele, I start to strum a few chords.

"Oi, everyone!" I shout out loud, hoping they could hear me even in their dreams "This song's for you guys! I call it, 'The Sunset Looks Great So I Wish You Guys Could See It Too!'"

Playing the song that came to me, I start to imagine all the great times we had together in the New World Program. Playing fireworks before curfew, going to the beach, playing around in the Music Venue, riding the roller coaster... Every time we went to somewhere new, there's always less and less people. But Ibuki always tries to cheer everyone up! There's always something fun to do! Something amazing to try out! We can't get stuck in the past! Live in the present, people!

It's all I can do to help, after all.

I'm not smart like Hajime, or able to notice clues like Peko, or able to fix things like Kazuichi, or good at treating injured people like Mikan. I'm just Mioda Ibuki, the Ultimate Musician. If all I could do is make people happy, then I'm going to do that!

What would Togami say if he heard me say that, though?

"That's very nice, you plebian. Now go play with your commoner instrument and annoy somebody else. I need to check these burgers for poison!"

Yeah, that's probably what Togami would have said. Uwaaaaaah! I make such a good Togami impression it scares me! Maybe I should be the Ultimate Impostor instead?

Or... should it be an Impostor impression? Since the real Togami is... Uhh... Ahh, this is so confusing!

I should call him something else. Twogami, maybe?

Ahh, Twogami…

Man, Twogami was really cool, even till the end. When Mikan's stray bullet hit him in the chest, everyone was so shocked. There was too much blood, and Mikan was going to be a murderer without even realising it! Twogami didn't want that. He promised everyone that we'll make it, after all. And in Mikan's condition, finding out that she really did end up a murderer would've been pretty bad...

So Twogami did the only thing he knew.

He took the gun from Mikan and walked away to his bedroom. His last words to us were so calm, so collected, so... so Twogami!

"This... This wound is fatal. I won't make it to the end... But I've done my part. I leave everyone else to you, Mahiru. Take... Geh– Take good care of them in my place... Make sure all seven of you make it out alive!"

He... wanted to spare Mikan's life. I don't remember how much I had cried back then. After all, Twogami still tried his best to keep everyone alive. Even if he couldn't do anything about the Despair Disease, or monitor everyone to make sure nobody played the video game thingy. He always took it the hardest when something went wrong...

So why did Hanamura still have to turn his sacrifice into a murder?

What did Mahiru and him see in that Final Dead Room?

"I... miss you guys..."

Eh? Tears?

Ahh... Looks like I can't keep smiling forever. Oh well. It's over now. The New World Program has ended, everybody's going to wake up one day, and Junko is finally gone.

I'm sure they won't mind if I cried now...

"Mioda Ibuki! I have received reports of something which sounds like a dying whale scratching on a chalkboard! We must leave the area before the whale notices us!"

Those thick eyelashes! That spiky hair! That school uniform! That voice that shouts to the heavens! There's only one person out there with those specific characteristics!

"Taka!" I shout, turning around and waving at him from atop the luggage bag mountain

Ishimaru Kiyotaka tensed. Still not used to that nickname, eh? In time, buddy! You'll love it!

"This one's for you, Taka!" I shout. Time to play my new hit single, 'Whales Should Not Be Allowed Near Chalkboards'!

"GWAAAH! The whale has noticed us! We must take evasive actions!"

Taking off his school uniform in a single motion (and showing off that hot bod of his, HELLO!), Kiyotaka jumped into the ocean trying to hide from the whale. Wait… don't whales live in oceans? NOOOOOO! Don't go towards the light!

"WHALES LIVE IN THE OCEAN!"

He just remembered!

Like a jet ski, Kiyotaka who had already swam a few metres into the ocean suddenly burst out of the water and swam all the way back! Reaching the sandy beach in record time, I throw a bouquet of flowers to him that I conveniently found in one of the nearby luggage bags. Like a manly man, Kiyotaka reached out and grabbed the bouquet—

Only to miss and have it slam right into his face.

"Ah! I just remembered!" Kiyotaka moved his hands around like a breakdancing robot as he quickly put his clothes back on "We have a lunch meeting in three minutes! If you do not move now, then we will be late! Being tardy is—Are you crying?!"

"Huh? Ohhhhh, this? Yeah! Just a bit," I admit, laughing out loud "Got a bit nostalgic for a moment there!"

"That will not do! I was supposed to watch over you and I have failed! I lost sight of you and you ended up crying! As punishment, I will do 100 sit-ups!"

"Ooh, can I join? Can I join?"

"Of course! There is no better way to bond than through our own sweat!"

"YEAH! Yahooooo~!"

Kiyotaka had already started his sit-ups when I pushed myself off the luggage bag mountain. And then he stopped. Time slowed down for a bit while both our minds started to turn. He remembered something important. I remembered something important. I screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"IBUKI!"

Leaping into action (literally), Kiyotaka's hair turned white and fire erupted from his eyes! He grabbed one of the bags and used it to push himself off the ground, grabbing me in the air and successfully hero rolling! He stuck the landing with a mighty DOKAAAAAAN! Fireworks exploded in the distance to celebrate his heroism!

At least, that's what I think happened.

I did end up in his arms, though! But he was lying on the ground, sweating like crazy and hair not white. Aww...

"You should be careful!" Kiyotaka scolded me "In your current condition, you should not be doing anything that dangerous!"

"Ehehee... Sorry, I forgot~" I did a cute 'Oopsy' anime girl pose

"The others would be devastated if you were to hurt yourself! I would be devastated! I... I would..!"

He's crying... I... don't know how to react to that. Huh, that's new.

After crying for about ten seconds, he placed me on the Awesome Wonder Chair. Wiping away his sweat, he scowled. I know that scowl. It's the same one he gave Mikan when he found her stalking outside Hajime's room at midnight.

The two of them got scolded for an hour after that. I swear Mikan was super happy about it, though!

"How did you even get up there?!" Kiyotaka sounded exasperated as he walked behind me "As far as I know, you... your legs are... and the wheelchair is... How?!"

"Hey, it's called the Awesome Wonder Chair! Wheelchair just makes it sound pretty depressing, you know? And I've had enough of being depressed!"

I look down at my legs, bandaged up and numb as a... a... rock? I try punching it with a mighty "HORYAH" but it's still not working. I can't feel pain in my legs. I can't make them kick. I can't jump. I can't walk. I can't even move them. Everything from my waist down is just… dead, I guess?

They're as useful as a pair of shoes for a snail. But at least the snail can live in the shoe!

I know I said I didn't want to be depressed anymore, but looking at my legs... It's a constant reminder that Ultimate Despair Ibuki was real. And that even if she's gone, she still got the last laugh.

It sucks!

I don't know why she even did it, or how, or when! Makoto won't tell me, the others don't know what happened, and Ibuki doesn't remember either! But if I were Past Ibuki and I knew that I was going to lose my memories so Not Ultimate Despair Ibuki could take over Past Ibuki's body, then I would try to mess up Future Not Ultimate Despair Ibuki's life as much as possible...

"Ibuki," Kiyotaka placed his firm hands on the handles of the Awesome Wonder Chair

"I can't run with Hajime anymore..."

"Unless he is willing to push you for as long as he ran," Kiyotaka surprisingly managed to say that without shouting

"People will have to help me with simple things like bathing and going up stairs..."

"You will need to learn how to do those tasks without the use of legs," Kiyotaka started pushing the Awesome Wonder Chair back to the main hotel

"I can't even control my pooping anymore…"

"Nekomaru would be devastated!" Kiyotaka shouted, grinding the Awesome Wonder Chair to a halt

"Guhiiii! Coach Nekomaru is going to get so angry when he wakes up later!" I pulled back, wondering how the team manager would yell at me to practice sitting on the toilet again

"Regardless!" Kiyotaka tried suddenly straightens himself out "What happens from now on is solely depending on your effort! No magic cure will fix those legs of yours, but with enough hard work and determination, you can overcome any obstacle! Keep practicing and one day, you will walk again!"

"Yeah!" I pumped my fists into the air, shouting with everything I've got "C'mon, let's go get some grub! I'm starving!"

"Gah! We're late by twenty-three minutes! I must punish myself for being tardy!"

"Being tardy isn't welcome in a school environment!" I shout again, pumping my other fist into the air

Kiyotaka just stared at me like I grew a third arm. I look at my body. Nope, no third arm.

"We are not in a school environment, though."

"Just shut up and push me, Taka! Whoooo!" I whip out the ukulele and started playing a tune

"THE WHALE HAS RETURNED!"

With that shout, Kiyotaka started pushing me while laughing and screaming something about whales. These dumb legs of mine might be broken, but I'm still alive! And while I'm alive, I'll make sure to keep everyone as lively as possible! Just like I promised at the end of the New World Program!

"When we get out, Ibuki's going to play a concert for everyone! And that means everyone! Let's do this, guys! Let's meet everyone on the other side and paaaaaaaaaar-tay!"

\------------------------

**OMAKE:**

"So did you ever tell Kiyotaka that the whale is actually just Ibuki's music?"

"Do you think he'd actually believe that?"

Hajime pondered Celestia's words for a moment.

"Believe what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably didn't do Ibuki any justice, despite how much I really wanted this chapter to be good. Sorry! I know a lot of you Ibuki fans must be really disappointed. Also, fun fact. Hanamura was supposed to survive as well, but I couldn't really find any good story opportunities with him and decided to remove him. Either way, Kiyotaka and Celestia confirmed to be alive! Yay! The next chapter will be Hajime's chapter. Not sure how it'll turn out since my quality seems to change a lot, so I hope you enjoy it regrdless.


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